O Line Skills

Crawling through bumper-to-bumper traffic on I-10 last week, I found myself reflecting on that familiar phrase: “Stay in your lane.” It’s advice we’ve all heard—stick to what you know, don’t overstep boundaries, don’t meddle in matters beyond your expertise.

Earlier this spring, crossing the George Washington Bridge en route to our O-Line Clinic, I witnessed the aftermath of a multi-car accident that had traffic backed up for miles. One driver’s decision to veer from their lane had cascading consequences for hundreds.

In athletics, we operate on a four-lane highway: Players, Coaches, Parents/Fans, and Officials. When everyone maintains their appropriate role, the program advances smoothly. When boundaries blur, collisions occur. At higher levels of the game, a fifth lane emerges: Agents.

This delicate balance between roles came to mind while listening to NFL draft coverage. Take Deion Sanders—an NFL legend, successful coach, and by all accounts, a devoted father. When he stepped partially into that agent lane while advocating for his son during the draft process, it raised questions about whether crossing boundaries helped or hindered his son’s prospects.

The challenging reality is that growth happens at boundaries. Educational theorists call this the “zone of proximal development”—that space just beyond our comfort zone where real progress occurs. Jeff Bezos frames decision-making in terms of “one-way doors” versus “two-way doors.” Two-way doors allow us to return if our risk doesn’t pay off; one-way doors represent irreversible decisions requiring greater caution.

So when should we venture beyond our lane? Consider these questions:
• Is this a two-way door that allows for recovery if things go wrong?
• Do I bring legitimate value to this new territory?
• Have I consulted those who will be affected by my lane change?

Football teaches us that disciplined execution within assigned roles creates team success, but it also rewards calculated risk-taking at the right moment. The most memorable plays often come when someone recognizes the perfect moment to break pattern… not recklessly, but with purpose.

Sometimes greatness requires changing lanes. Other times, staying put demonstrates wisdom. The difference lies not in the action itself, but in the judgment behind it.

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for supporting this blog and joining our conversations, and as always, thanks for your time!

To borrow a line from famed Notre Dame sports writer Grantland Rice, outlined against a blue, gray April sky the Alercio OLine Clinic rode again at the Hun School of Princeton this past Sunday. The historic campus provided the perfect backdrop for our tradition of offensive line development excellence.

Players rotated through specialized stations focusing on fundamental skills: proper stance and first-step explosion, hand placement techniques for both blocking scenarios, and communication protocols for various defensive fronts. The progress from morning to afternoon was remarkable, with many young men showing dramatic improvement in their technique and understanding of leverage points.

As stated in last week’s blog, the clinic also provided an opportunity for players to connect with teammates and build relationships. I watched with pride as veterans took underclassmen under their wing, demonstrating drills and offering encouragement. During breaks, camaraderie was palpable as stories were shared across school boundaries—rivals on Friday nights becoming colleagues in the craft of line play.

Another benefit was exposure to different coaching styles and philosophies, expanding players’ understanding of their unique position in football. Our diverse coaching staff brought multiple perspectives on technique and mindset.

Participants should build upon this experience by continuing to gather throughout Spring and Summer. Remember, championships aren’t won on Friday nights in the fall—they’re earned through the invisible work put in during these crucial development months.

Our next clinic is on Sunday, May 25th at West Orange High School in New Jersey. Bring your hard hat and lunch pail attitude—we’ll provide the knowledge and skills to help you dominate the line of scrimmage this fall.

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for supporting this blog and joining our conversations, and as always, thanks for your time!

One could cite many benefits of attending the Alercio Oline Clinics. Throughout the Mid-Atlantic states and spanning far up into New England, Coaches and athletes learn “Techniques in the trenches,” like the stance, steps, visual targets, and strike points. Many might not expect a class on Physics, but we dive in on transfer or force and rate of force development, and momentum as an offensive lineman.

While our program, teaching points, drills, and memory aides all leave lasting impressions, over the last 25 years coaches have relayed the greatest value of attending Alercio OLine Clinics, is the shared experience or waking up early on a Sunday four months before the football season, loading into a vehicle with teammates, taking a road trip, stopping for something along the way, going through 4 hours of training, then taking the return trip home.

As coaches, we hope to create a shared sense of purpose, shared values, shared goals, and a shared hope for what we, as a team, can become…

These shared experiences deepen connections among team members, fostering camaraderie and mutual understanding. Spending extended time together in close quarters breaks down barriers and encourages open communication, and breeds interdependence, all mission-essential skills on the offensive line. Lastly, a change of scenery can reinvigorate a team’s energy.

Take the time to build your team’s interdependence and join us this Sunday at The Hun School of Princeton. Get your brochure here or register using the QR code below.

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for supporting this blog and joining our conversations, and as always, thanks for your time!

We ended our Spring practices with a Spring game. No not in pads on a field. Our field is still covered in snow. We broke the players up into 3 teams and played a round-robin of Ultimate Football. It is Ultimate Frisbee but with a football. The competition borders somewhere between structured and unstructured. We give some base rules then just let the teammates play and have fun while our coaching staff observes.
Though largely unstructured, there is a “method to our (seeming) madness.” As coaches, we evaluate gross motor skills (running, jumping, throwing, catching, covering) by observing how they move their bodies in active play. We also evaluate how they respond emotionally to competition. Do they get frustrated or stay positive and encouraging when things go wrong? Our veterans have been taught to be “thoughtfully responsive, not emotionally reactive…” Will they remember? Will they share the lesson with a rookie?

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, we observe how they interact with each other as social hierarchies quickly form within the team. Most players fall into one of three categories: competitive, cooperative or solitary. The rare player(s) who can be both competitive and cooperative while maintaining emotional regulations (thoughtfully responsive) are those likely to emerge as team leaders.

As coaches, we gather a great deal of information about the players and look forward to lively discussions at upcoming staff meetings. As players, they are just playing and having fun.

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for supporting this blog and joining our conversations, and as always, thanks for your time!

Spring football practices wrap up this week and we will conclude the sessions with a combine test. Similar to the NFL combine which was recently held in Indianapolis, we test our players in a variety of events to gather measurable results. We test the 40 yard dash for speed, the “L drill” for agility, shuttle for quickness, broad jump for lower body explosivity, Medball toss for whole body explosivity, bench press max reps for upper body muscular strength and endurance, goblet squat for lower body muscular strength and endurance along with core stabilization, and pullups for overall fitness. Athletes’ by event results are organized on a spreadsheet that calculates a score for each event of 0-20 points, and then an overall score for each player.

While the NFL combine has been jokingly nicknamed the “underwear olympics” because it just showcases the physical attributes of the athlete and not the immeasurables that are so important in football. But we, like the NFL, have found that there is a strong correlation between combine results and on field performance. With many athletes competing over many years, I can confidently say, our best players are most often those who score the highest.

The other reason for the testing is to see our players compete against themselves and others. There is an old saying, “competition makes a horse run.” That holds true for athletes as well. Players will work to beat their own scores from Training Camp as well as the scores of their teammates during the event. Amongst teammates, one would expect fierce competition at the top of the leaderboard, but it’s often interesting to see some of the fiercest competition coming from those striving not to be on the bottom. We will share the results with every player so that they can see where they compare with their teammates before heading into our Spring lifting sessions and Summer OTAs. Lastly, we trust that it serves as a baseline for comparison and motivating factor in our players’ off-season training. As Peter Drucker, a highly influential management consultant, educator, and author used to say, “What gets measured, gets managed.”

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for supporting this blog and joining our conversations, and as always, thanks for your time!